First Meeting
by blah0799
Summary: Takes place 8 years before. Misaki was 10, Usagi 20. Misaki gets sick and Takahiro asks Usagi to take care of him for a while. Usagi and Misaki's first meeting


It wasn't until 10 at night when I got a random call from Takahiro.

I wasn't really doing anything productive at the moment, like always, but as soon as I saw his name on my phone, I jumped up, a smile fixated on my face as I imagined what he wanted me for tonight.

_Maybe he wants to go out for a drink after work _I thought to myself as I picked up his call.

-_"Usagi-san? It's Takahiro"_

-"Oi! What's up"

-_"Do you mind if I ask for a favor right now?"_

- "Um, no, sure, what is it?"

_-"I was wondering if you could stop by my apartment and check up on Misaki tonight."_

What? Misaki-chan? Takahiro's kid brother? I wonder what for? And really, he should know by now that I'm not good with children.

-_"He's been sick all day, and I couldn't skip work to take care of him today. My shift doesn't end in a few more hours and I'm desperately worried!"_

-"Why ask me?"

_-" C'mon you're my closest friend, and besides, you're the only one with a spare key, and I doubt Misaki will be able to get up and answer the door."_

I thought this through. I haven't really formally met Takahiro's brother since the funeral, and I rarely ever talked to him. But if it's for Takahiro's sake, I guess a few hours with him won't be that bad. Besides, if he's sick, he'll just be sleeping all night.

-"Alright, I'll be there. But you sure he'll recognize my face? He might freak out on me when I enter."

-_"Nah, you'll be fine, I'm sure he'll recognize you-OH! I've got to go! I'll see you soon!"_

I hung up the phone and grabbed my jacket, and as I drove to Takahiro's apartment, a pout replaced my smile as I thought of drinks and the night I could be spending with Takahiro.

I stood in front of the apartment door for about a minute or so. To tell the truth, I was a bit nervous, but I wiped it all away in an instant and put the key on the lock and turned.

I've been here many times with Takahiro, and mostly Misaki was at school or asleep at the time, but the place felt oddly empty and quiet. Just when I shut the door close, I heard the faint sound of water running and things being scrubbed. I followed the sound to the kitchen and found a small boy, standing on top of a stool over the sink, washing the dishes. He turned around to look at me but made no response. His face was red and tired, but his wide green eyes kept staring.

"Usagi-sama?" He asked, then bent over to cough into his shoulder.

What was this? Misaki looked very feverish, but yet, we was up and doing chores.

"Oi, Misaki, what are you doing? Didn't your brother tell you to go rest?" I set my jacket down and walked towards him, instinctively putting my hand to his forehead.

"Stop that," he said to me, and weakly pushed my hands away and continued washing. "I just wanted to finish some chores before Nii-chan gets home so he could sleep right away."

My eyes widened in shock. I knew Takahiro said something about Misaki not wanting to cause trouble for people after their parents died, but it was my first time seeing it in action.

I guess I couldn't stop him now.

Rolling up my sleeves, I grabbed a soapy dish and started rinsing. I felt those green eyes staring at me again.

"Stop staring, little brat, I'm just helping you out. You'll get even sicker if you do all this by yourself."

He didn't argue. He knew he was tired, but never really said it. After a short while, the dishes were all done and put back into place.

I stood in front of the sink for a moment, hands on my hips and gazing at my, or half of my, accomplishment. I would normally only wash one set of dinner ware back home or eat out, so I wasn't that used to washing them.

But when I turned, I saw the tiny brat already taking out a mop out of the broom closet, and started to clean.

I watched for a while, but soon stepped in as he fell in a coughing fit. I ran and grabbed the mop away from him and scooped him up, plopping him on the couch.

"You stay here and sleep you little brat, and stop acting like a housewife."

He sat up and gave me an angry pout. "I'm 10 years old! I can do this by myself!" As he flung his feet out the couch, my placed my hand on his hand to push him back down, but pulled back reflectively. He was really burning up.

"Misaki, stop being so stubborn! You're gonna cause a big trouble to Takahiro if you get worse, let alone me, and I know you don't want that to happen!"

There. I played my trump card. Misaki just sat there, red with sad eyes looking down on the ground. Pulling the blanket from the top of the couch, he wrapped himself and curled quietly. After a few quiet moments, I heard him mumble.

'I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Usagi-sama."

Tsk. This kid really knows how to get on my nerves. He's stubborn, but his loyalty o Takahiro was even greater than mine. When I heard him snoring, I decided I would at least try to finish the chores.

Pinned up on the fridge was a written note in Misaki's handwriting, listing all the chores he needed to do before Takahiro came home.

So then, I mopped, swept, and dusted the whole place. But I was able to finish it all before midnight, and Misaki was still fast asleep. I was exhausted. It was my first time doing chores.

I went to check up on Misaki. I remembered from watching those family shows that you put a wet towel on someone's head whenever they were sick. So I did exactly that, even though I didn't know what the hell I was doing. But a nice cold towel must've felt good, so I suspected he was doing fine.

I sat on the couch next to Misaki's head, wondering when Takahiro would be coming home, when I noticed that there wasn't a pillow or a bear in sight. I grumbled. Usually I would lay on Suzuki-san whenever I was tired. But surprisingly, I was more worried for Misaki. I took his head and placed it gently on my lap, checking his forehead once more.

For a few minutes, we just sat there together, my hand on his forehead, and his head on my lap. It wasn't long until exhaustion took over and I fell asleep.

Takahiro rushed home as quickly as possible when his shift ended. It was about 1 in the morning already, and he wasn't sure how the two got along in the apartment.

He knew Usagi wasn't the warmest person to be with unless you really got to know him.

When he finally reached the apartment complex, he opened the door to find the two sleeping on the couch. Usagi's head hung up, his mouth open, and Misaki all curled up with Usagi's cold hands on his head. Takahiro couldn't help but smile at this scene.

Putting down his bags, he also noticed that the house looked slightly cleaner. The floor was still a bit damp, and bits of dust were hung all over the place, but the dishes were cleaned and sorted out. Takahiro instantly knew it was the work of Misaki, with Usagi's trying help.

He got out a huge warm blanket from the closet and placed it over the two as they slept. As Takahiro watched them, he hope for the future that the two could eventually get along.

But no one expected their next meeting to take place 8 years later…


End file.
